"Qian Xin! Have you gone mad?

Senior Brother Black Mountain has already reached the Foundation Establishment Late Stage and holds the esteemed title of Great Master!

In seven more years, when the sect holds its elections, he’ll be the Vice Sect Leader!

If you dare kill me, are you planning to spend the rest of your life rotting away on Heart-Lock Cliff?"

Hearing Qian Xin Master’s chilling words, He Sha’s gaze hardened. The last vestiges of Magical Power in his body stirred restlessly.

"Hmm... you make a good point." Upon hearing this, Qian Xin Master nodded thoughtfully, the cold killing intent on his face seeming to soften for a moment.

A sliver of hope rose in He Sha’s heart; he thought that Qian Xin Master wouldn’t dare to completely tear apart all pretenses after all.

In the next instant, however, Qian Xin Master’s eyes glinted, and the grim curve of his lips widened.

"But... as long as Black Mountain never finds out, won’t that solve the problem?"

"You...!" He Sha’s pupils shrank. He realized his opponent’s killing intent was absolute, leaving no room for negotiation!

BOOM—!!!

The moment the words left his lips, the dark-red Red Dust Evil Mist that had merely been encircling and restraining him erupted in a sudden frenzy!

It was as if a dormant volcano of red dust had furiously erupted at this very moment!

Driven by Qian Xin Master’s immense Magical Power, the roiling Evil Qi evolved into a myriad of worldly illusions, a kaleidoscope of all living things!

As the mist churned, countless phantoms flickered, condensed, and lunged like figures in a madly spinning lantern!

The brutal clash of armored cavalry on a battlefield, with bloody light piercing the sky and battle-souls roaring; the obsessive grievances of love and hate tangled within the deep palace, poignant yet concealing murderous intent; the joys and sorrows, greed and anger, follies and resentments of everyday life on city streets—a complex mix of all flavors of existence.

The myriad illusions of the mortal world, a Heart Demon’s realm of interrogation and temptation aimed directly at one’s Dao Heart.

Countless versions of "He Sha" sank, struggled, and roared within it!

These were not mere phantoms.

They were the tangible result of Qian Xin Master using his unique Thousand Illusions Red Dust Dao Foundation, transforming his own understanding of the Red Dust Dao and his accumulated, complex Telekinesis into a physical attack!

Every phantom contained a terrifying power that could corrode the Divine Soul, throw Magical Power into disarray, and twist perception!

Like an endless tide, they surged from all directions toward the surrounded He Sha, madly rushing, tearing, and eroding him!

"You want me dead?! It won’t be that easy!

Floating Form Flowing Abyss, Yellow Springs Sandstorm!"

Although He Sha was gravely injured and half of his body was decaying, his will to survive drove him to unleash his final potential!

Ignoring the damage to his Dao Foundation, he forcefully activated his already shattered Floating Form Flowing Abyss Dao Foundation!

AROOO—!

Behind him, the illusory and unstable vision of the Quicksand Abyss forcibly coalesced once more.

Only this time, the dusky quicksand was mixed with a large amount of the dark, deathly energy and foul corpse-fluid spreading from his rotting body.

The quicksand was no longer pure; it had transformed into the corpse-sands of the Yellow Springs!

The abyss roared, kicking up a sky-filling sandstorm. Every grain of sand contained a Daoist Intent of sinking into oblivion and utter annihilation.

HISSSSSS—!!!

The phantoms of the Red Dust clashed violently with the corpse-sands of the Yellow Springs!

The charging battle-soul phantoms from the battlefield were corroded by the corpse-sand, letting out wretched howls as they dissipated. Threads of deep-palace grievances coiled around the sandstorm, only to be tainted by the deathly energy and grow dim. Phantoms of city life crashed against the wall of sand, kicking up clouds of murky dust...

Two powers, entirely different in nature yet equally strange and domineering, furiously consumed and annihilated each other within this small space!

The dispersing energy shaved several more feet off the surrounding dozens of miles of land, scraping away yet another layer.

It reflected a terrifying scene where the twisted illusions of the mortal world intertwined with a hell of quicksand!

Shockwaves visible to the naked eye continuously rippled outward in rings!

"Qian Xin! You can’t stop me!"

Quicksand Soul-Burial!

He Sha’s lone eye was crimson, burning with a final madness. He slammed his hands together, and the shattered Quicksand Abyss began to collapse inward, unleashing a terrifying power of absorption and annihilation in all directions.

This was his final strike, one he mustered at the risk of his Dao Foundation completely shattering!

The abyss hummed, carrying a desperate resolve to bury the Divine Soul and destroy everything as it rammed viciously toward Qian Xin Master’s physical body!

"Stubborn fool.

At your peak, you might have been able to contend with me for a bit.

But now... with that filthy, broken body of yours?"

Facing this desperate, life-risking attack, Qian Xin Master’s expression remained unchanged as he simply shook his head.

He held his fingers together like a brush and drew a light stroke through the surging Red Dust Evil Mist before him!

"A prison is drawn on the ground; all of the red dust falls silent."

In that instant, the countless, intricate phantoms that had been portraying the vast mortal world suddenly froze and contracted.

Following an incomparably profound trajectory, they interwove and layered themselves, transforming before Qian Xin Master into a Red Dust Sky Curtain—one as thin as a cicada’s wing, yet capable of isolating space and time, containing the ultimate destination of the mortal world and the Realm of all things returning to silent annihilation!

The Yellow Springs Sand Core, which held all of He Sha’s final power and venomous hatred, slammed brazenly into this red curtain of light.

THWUMP—!

There was no earth-shattering explosion, only a dull thud like a stone being dropped into a deep pool.

The moment the Yellow Springs abyss, filled with terrifying energy, touched the red light curtain, the corpse-fluid and deathly energy on its surface were purified by an unseen force and rapidly dissipated.

The abyss itself seemed to fall into an endless cycle of mortal reincarnation. All of its impact force and destructive will were ground down and disintegrated, layer by layer, until finally, like a snowflake cast into a fire, it silently... vanished without a trace.

"Im... pos... sible..."

He Sha watched as his final, desperate attack was neutralized so easily, his single eye filling with incredulous despair and defeat.

The decay of his body suddenly accelerated, and his aura, like a candle flickering in the wind, rapidly dimmed.

Qian Xin Master gave him no more chances. With a cold look in his eyes, the red curtain of silent annihilation rippled like water and instantly swept over He Sha’s ruined body.

He Sha’s body stiffened, his last shred of life force severed completely by that Red Dust Intent.

The expression on his half-rotten, half-living face froze in a mask of ultimate venom and unwillingness.

Then, his entire body crumbled inch by inch, like a sand sculpture.

Finally, he turned into a cloud of ash mixed with deathly energy, dissipating completely between Heaven and Earth.

Black Mountain’s vicious dog was thus destroyed in both body and soul!

Qian Xin Master swept his sleeve, gathering and dispelling the turbulent Red Dust Evil Qi and the residual fluctuations from the Magical Combat. He glanced at the spot where He Sha had vanished and snorted coldly.

"Just a dog. Did you really think that with Black Mountain backing you, no one would dare to touch you?"

After killing He Sha, Qian Xin Master’s expression was unchanged. He straightened his slightly disheveled robes, which had been messed up by the Magical Combat.

He then turned his hand and produced a peach blossom from his sleeve. It was tender and pink, glistening as if with dew, and it flowed with a strange Spiritual Light.

He tossed the peach blossom lightly into the air. Instead of falling, it hovered, its petals scattering one by one and transforming into motes of crystalline light.

Qian Xin Master faced the swirling radiance, cupped his hands in a formal gesture, and called out softly:

"Eldest Senior Brother..."

The radiance gathered, and a somewhat illusory yet ancient and profoundly powerful figure slowly condensed and appeared.

"Is it done?"

"Yes." Qian Xin Master nodded, a hint of helplessness in his voice. "Originally, I shouldn’t have had to act. Nephew Qi had already set a trap to kill He Sha.

I just didn’t expect the Cyan Sect’s Vast Sea Dust True Monarch to suddenly intervene. He pierced the Black Coffin with a single sword strike, throwing the situation into chaos and allowing He Sha to escape by a fluke.

I had no choice but to step in and clean things up."

"Good." Nan Dou Master nodded slightly. Seemingly unsurprised by the process, he cut straight to the point.

"I will personally act to conceal the cause and effect of this matter. As for Black Mountain, he won’t be able to trace it back to you or Qi Yun.

However, we still need to keep up appearances. We’ll just... blame it on the Yellow Springs Netherworld."

"Qian Xin understands." Qian Xin Master nodded in understanding.

He was used to such things as grafting flowers onto a different tree—framing others for his own deeds.

Nan Dou Master sighed lightly, his tone carrying a note of admonition.

"This Black Mountain is wild, aggressive, and domineering. Now that he has achieved the Great Master Position, he’s become even more arrogant and lawless, looking down on everyone.

I hope He Sha’s death serves as a warning to him, making him act with a bit more restraint. He shouldn’t think that there’s no one in the sect who can control him."

"Eldest Senior Brother is right," Qian Xin Master agreed. But a trace of hesitation then appeared on his face. He pursed his lips before finally voicing the worry in his heart:

"But... Eldest Senior Brother, the sect’s elections are in seven years.

Black Mountain is already at the Foundation Establishment Late Stage and holds the Great Master Position.

He has also won over quite a few people... Will he... really be chosen?"

This question concerned the future power structure of the Holy Sect; he couldn’t help but be concerned.

Nan Dou Master did not answer this question immediately.

A brief silence fell upon the void, with only the peach blossom’s radiance faintly swirling.

Qian Xin Master waited quietly, a torrent of thoughts rising and falling in his mind.

Just as he was beginning to think that his Eldest Senior Brother was unwilling to say more, or that the matter was still uncertain, and was frowning in preparation to take his leave...

A voice—ancient, indifferent, yet carrying an unquestionable power—slowly echoed from the depths of the void, entering his ears with perfect clarity:

"He will not be chosen."

...